A Spinner in the Sun

r of the S

his library, alone, as

pread out before him,

ine of them by heart, b

on the

thed shabbily in sombre black. Continually he fancied the horror the veil concealed

en from the drawer. "A pretty, sweet woman," he mused. "A good wife and a good

fastnesses of his soul, and before whom he had trembled, was the one whom he h

n carries in his secret heart when he has found his mate at all. Past the anguish that lay between them li

arred in soul; crippled, mutilated, or maimed though either

, as all women but the one must ever stand. Nor did he guess that she h

ead wife. She had come and gone across his existence as a butterfly crosses a field, touching lightly here and there,

to seek him-he knew her pride too well for that. His mind strove to grasp the reason of her coming, but it eluded him; evaded h

remembered now. He had thrown it far into the shrub

in faded ink on the yellowed slip of paper, danced impishly across the pages of Ralph's letters.

restlessly across the library. "I'm a fool," he growled; "a

m. A light step behind him chimed in with his as he walked and he

d for a long time. He took out a photograph, wrapped in yellowed tissue paper, and went back t

y Dexter looked long at the perfect features, the warm, sweet, tempting mouth, the great, trusting eyes, and the brown hair that waved s

battle, and men of other centuries fought with their own temptations and weaknesses. I

t symphony. One would fire a man with high ambition, exalt him with noble striving-ah, but had she? Was it Evelina's fault that Anthon

d fastnesses of his nature which long ago he had denied. Self

"you have come back. And what do

heard no approaching footsteps. He covered the photograph of Evelina with Ralph's lette

before the door was opened. He stood there, waiting, summoning his faculties of calmness

was wiping his feet carefully upon the door-mat, an

ld man came in, floundering helplessly among the furniture, as a near-si

ind you in. Sometimes I am not so for

" returned the D

ard the light. "I wish I could have a lamp like thi

," returned Dexter, wi

nity. "Miss Mehitable's lamps are all small. S

its beams,'" quoted Dexter. "'So shi

xter would sit for an entire evening with less than a dozen words sp

oul. You and I sit here, talking or not, as the mood strikes us, and yet, what do

"that is quite true."

, but he felt that i

is a rumbling on some distant peak and we know that it rains there, too. That is all we ever know. We are not quite sure when our neighbours are happy or when they are troubled; when there is sun and when there is storm. The secret forces in the interior of the mountain work on unceasingly. The distance hide

retty," he said, with a forced laugh which soun

not please," he answered, with touching simp

Doctor, in a grating voice. "

h," remarked the ministe

eturned Dexter. He was keyed to a high pitch. He felt that

the face of Ralph's mother toward him. He studied it closely, not having see

the eyebrows fini

umed carelessness. Ther

st her than not to have had her at all," he continued, unconsciously paraphrasing. "Even in your loneliness, you have the comfort of memory, and your boy-I have w

r. The strain was we

y. "I-" Then he paused. "As I was saying," he we

were also saying, distance hides th

agony we come into the world, by woman's care we are nourished, by woman's wisdom we are taught, by woman's love we are sheltered, and, at the last, it is a woman who closes our eyes. At every crisis of a m

oment cried out for speech-for anything to relieve the tension. Through Ral

hoarsely, "who unintentionally contrac

horpe, inquiringly

with difficulty, "or rather a classmate. I knew

m, after a pause. "You were sp

refully choosing his words, "and they loved each other as people love but once. My-my friend was much absorbed in chemistry and had a fondn

e and invited her to come to the laboratory to see an experiment which he was trying for the first time a

he loved her because she was herself; because, of all the women in the world, she

e was his. 'Then,' she asked, timidly, 'when I am old and all the beauty has gon

n would, never dreaming ho

a moment, to get another chemical. As he leaned over the retort to put it in, he heard it seethe. With all her strength, she pushed him away inst

burned, and had been taken on the train to the hospital. He was t

ed and they hoped for her eyesight, but that she would be permanently and horribly disfigured

nd?" he asked, in a voice that was almost unrecognisable. "His face was close to the retort when she pushed

t her when she had so much to bear? Deserted her when she needed him

sible?" queried Dexter, endea

ter, his voice trembling with i

himself. He was breathing heavily,

not tell Thorpe that the man had married in the meantime, lest he should guess too much. "The wo

r released from his promise-did not even ask for it. He slunk away like a cur. In the sight of God he is bound to her by his own word still. He

ame in and stopped,

shred of respect for a man like that. It shows your broad char

lly. He tightened his fingers on th

iss Mehitable's, farther up, you know, a woman has just come to live who seems to have passed through so

ter, in a voice the

wash the stain of cowardice off his soul. Sometimes," cried Thorpe passionately, "I think there is no sin but shirking. I can

ng the cold sweat from his forehead, "liv

of a man meeting his God like that! It t

s not good to hear. "I think, by this time, my friend must believe in i

d beneath his feet. The impulse of confession was strong upon him, even in the face of Thorpe's scorn. He wondered why only one c

and forth, as though they were of fabric and stirred by all the win

table. His lips were parched and his tongue clung to the roo

his hand. "Listen!

an up the walk, the door opened noisily, and a man rushed in. He seemed

ard, his hands outstretche

ried Ralph, joyousl